You've heard the famous proverb, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

Judaism makes a similar point. In addition to the obligation to impart ethical values and spiritual ideals to our youth, Torah law mandates that we provide them with the necessary tools with which to earn a living in the future.

Hence we founded JETS.

Recognizing that every young person has his own distinctive gifts — not necessarily in the realm of scholastics; and every adult has something to contribute to the community — not necessarily in the realm of Rabbinics, JETS offers a unique Yeshivah program that combines a quality Jewish education with a variety of business, professional and vocational career training opportunities for students between the ages of 16 and 22.

Our goal is simple: To empower our students to succeed in accordance with their G-d-given talents while standing tall as proud and involved Jews, and proud and industrious Americans.

We also seek to ensure that rather than be future dependents upon their communities— generosity, G-d forbid, they will be the facilitators of that generosity! In other words, for all that these young men are receiving during these formative years; they will be giving back — hundredfold!

In his enumeration of the “Eight Levels of Charity”, Maimonides states that “the greatest level, above which there is no greater” is to provide one's fellow with the wherewithal for self-sufficiency, in order to “strengthen his hand so that he need not be dependent upon others.” (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Charity, 10:7—14)

As such, when one contributes to JETS, one is not only exercising the highest form of charity, but is making an investment in the future of the Jewish community; an investment that will be paid forward, yielding infinite dividends in our own time and for generations to come.

For many years, traditional Yeshivahs celebrated a certain mode of achievement which, while lofty and admirable, left many students not thus achieving feeling inadequate or outside the mainstream. It was not that they lacked skill or motivation, but that they simply did not fit the mold and would thus explore other means of self-realization — not all of them productive.

With the advent of JETS — Jewish Educational Trade School — a new model has been presented to the community, and it has taken off! Now well past the experimental phase, our students are thriving — emotionally and academically; our program is growing — qualitatively and quantitatively; and we are in an exciting expansion mode – incrementally and exponentially!

The campaign to build a new 92,000 square-feet, state-of-the-art campus on our 8-acre grounds in Granada Hills, California, is underway. Complete with classrooms, dorm-rooms, office wings, kitchens, dining halls, social hall, training centers, workshops, libraries, museum, swimming pool, gym, game room and weight room; this magnificent educational and recreational center promises to be one of the most impressive of its kind in the world.

I invite you to join us in strengthening the Jewish community of today while ensuring the vitality and growth of the Jewish community of tomorrow.